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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Bonaire Opts for U.S. Dollar as New Official Currency

As the island moves forward with a new state structure with closer ties to Holland, a new official currency must be chosen that will be used on Bonaire. This is due to the fact that, when the Antilles ceases to exist in its current form, each island will have a different status, and therefore it’s logical that the Antillean Florin may not exist in the future.

To achieve optimal participation by the Bonaire community in the process of choosing a new currency, trade unions and interested parties in the community formed a commission to render an opinion on a new currency. Many well respected members of Bonaire’s economic community are in this commission--Sherwin Pourier, Evert Piar, Raymundo Saleh, and Rudy Gomez.

This past Tuesday, during a meeting with trade unions and the government, the commission rendered its opinion and analysis on the subject. The commission’s decision is that Bonaire’s new currency must be the U.S. Dollar. The sister island of Saba, has also chosen the U.S. Dollar for its official currency. The members of the committee also presented their views on how they believe the dollar will have to be introduced. The conversion must be done in stages and there must be an information and awareness campaign, to avoid any confusion. Also, it is thought that the sudden introduction of the dollar, according to the committee, might have undesirable impacts on the economy and the social level of the island.

According to the Bestuurscollege, it is important to respond in a timely manner and to have a clear idea of the impact the use of the dollar will have on the Bonaire economy. Therefore, the Economic Affairs Department (DEZA) will continue the awareness campaign on the use of a new currency. Bonaire commercial entities may be requested to price and display their products in both guilders and dollars in advance of the conversion.

The next step in this process is that the Eilandsraad and Dutch governments must be provided information about this presentation and choice of currency. (Source: Island Government)